The present invention concerns a foot rest which is mountable on a motor vehicle floor and having a foundation with a mounting surface, a footboard, and a fastening apparatus operating between the foundation and the footboard which holds the footboard on the mounting surface, with the fastening apparatus having a lower, first fastening element constructed as a rigid back-reaching element and an upper, second fastening element.
A representative foot rest can be found in German document DE 199 51 121 A1 and includes a foundation which can be fastened on the motor vehicle floor. The foundation possesses an mounting surface on which a footboard can be attached. For this purpose, a fastening apparatus is provided between the foundation and the footboard, which in the known foot rest has a lower, rigid back-reaching element as a first fastening element which penetrates the mounting surface and reaches behind a projection provided on the foundation. In addition to such a hook-like fastening, the fastening apparatus also has an upper, second fastening element which is constructed in the form of a screw that penetrates the footboard and is fixed into position in the motor vehicle floor.
Furthermore, British document GB 23 38 932 discloses a foot rest which is held on two straps projecting from the motor vehicle floor with spring-loaded latching elements.
An object of this invention is to provide a foot rest of the type set forth above which, on one hand, fastens securely and which, on the other hand, provides for reduced installation time.
This object is accomplished with a foot rest mountable on a motor vehicle floor that includes a fastening apparatus which additionally possesses, between the upper and lower fastening elements, a third fastening element constructed as a rigid back-reaching element, and in which the upper fastening element is constructed as a slide blocking element that blocks a relative displacement between the footboard and the mounting surface. Additional features of the invention are set forth in the dependent claims.
Principal advantages attained by the invention are that, to fasten the footboard on the foundation, the footboard needs only to be hooked with its two back-reaching elements on the foundation, and is finally fixed by an engagement of the sliding blocking element in the mounting surface of the foundation. Thus a three-point fastening is proposed which obviates the need for a time-consuming application of screws, and thus shortens assembly time. Moreover, the footboard can be removed from the foundation again without tools when necessary.
In a preferred embodiment, each of the two back-reaching elements is constructed in the form of a hook with a free hook end which points in the direction of the motor vehicle floor. Both hooks are thus oriented in opposite directions, so that the footboard can be simply slipped onto the foundation, and the two hooks reach behind the mounting surface.
Advantageously, the foot rest has a sliding element which can simply snap into an opening in the mounting surface with a corresponding position between footboard and mounting surface.
The three fastening elements may proceed from the back of the footboard and engage into corresponding fastening receptacles which are constructed on the mounting surface. Of course, it would also be conceivable to provide at least one of the three fastening elements on the mounting surface and the allocated fastening receptacles on the footboard.
A floor covering, such as a carpet, is arranged between the mounting surface and the footboard so that play existing between the mounting surface and floor board will be equalized by the thickness of the floor covering. The floor covering possesses appropriate openings which correspond to the fastening receptacles in the installation plate.
According to a refinement, the hooks are constructed in an L-shaped form, whereby the short segment of the hook forms a hook root that is connected to the footboard. The length of the segment is adjusted according to the thickness of the floor covering, and is preferably selected such that the footboard is pressed upon the floor covering with a certain force.
It is especially preferred for the footboard to be pulled on the mounting surface when placing the footboard on the foundation, with a corresponding relative shifting of the footboard on the foundation, which is attained by the leading incline on the hook.
In order to be able to equalize any possible play in the direction of operation of the sliding element, a blocking gearing is provided as a sliding block between mounting surface and the reverse side of the footboard. The blocking gearing can, for example, interact with the floor covering and hook there. It would also, however, be conceivable for the blocking gearing to engage on the mounting surface.